Cardinal Nichols: Eucharistic adoration shows God’s majesty

A priest holds a monstrance containing the Blessed Sacrament at a Corpus Christi procession in Guatemala City (Getty Images)

"It takes time spent in the presence of the Blessed Sacrament... before we realise that in his far depths our Godhead’s majesty is softly shining," the cardinal wrote

The nature of the Eucharist calls Catholics to adoration, Cardinal Vincent Nichols has said.

In his pastoral letter for Corpus Christi, cited the Gospel and wrote that the act of adoration allows Catholics to see God in the flesh.

“In my experience,” he wrote, “it takes time spent in the presence of the Blessed Sacrament, the Body and Blood of the Lord there in front of our eyes, before we realise that in his far depths our Godhead’s majesty is softly shining.”

Cardinal Nichols also mentioned the parish of Corpus Christi, located in Covent Garden. He wrote that the church’s dedication to the Eucharist – which was the first in England since the Reformation to do so – signifies the importance of the Sacrament.

Citing a hymn by Fr Francis Stanfield, Cardinal Nichols wrote that adoration leads people to a sense of home.

“This is a Sacrament of shelter and a shoreline of safety,” he wrote.

Liverpool will host a National Eucharistic Congress in September 2018 that will put on Catechism sessions for participants to adore the Blessed Sacrament, according to the diocese of Shrewsbury.

“Through this event,” Cardinal Nichols wrote, “and all the preparation taking place before it, we seek to rejuvenate the Eucharistic adoration in our parishes as the source of strength for our lives and for our mission, that of making present the love and compassion of Jesus in our society.”